Contact:

Steve Carr, (505) 277-1821

August 6, 2001

UNM STUDENT INTERNS WITH SENATOR JEFF BINGAMAN’S WASHINGTON OFFICE

Elizabeth Louton, a Santa Fe-area resident and a student at the University of New Mexico, had the unique honor and opportunity to serve as interns for United States Senator Jeff Bingaman (D-N.M) in Washington, D.C. during the summer.

Louton, a junior majoring in political science, said the experience was very rewarding.

“I wanted to grasp something that seemed too far away,” said Louton. “I came to the reality that I was here (in Washington, D.C.). I had an experience that will last a lifetime.”

Sen. Bingaman’s intern program attracts undergraduate students from New Mexico who are attending a state school. The internships are offered on a year-round basis in both the Washington and district offices. The Washington Office offered the interns an opportunity to observe the operations of the Senate and its interaction with the House of Representatives and the executive and judicial branches.

The Legislative Department is the largest at the Washington Office. The interns worked with either legislative assistants and legislative correspondents under the direction of the legislative director. Legislative interns, depending on their academic background and interests, assisted the legislative assistants and legislative correspondents in tracking legislation, drafting policy memos, covering committee hearings, and composing correspondence.

Interns who serve in the district office provide yet another perspective on how Sen. Bingaman’s office helps constituents resolve problems with the federal government and how he stays in touch with the people of New Mexico.

Louton was one of six UNM students who served in Sen. Bingaman’s intern program this summer.

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The University of New Mexico
Public Affairs Department
Hodgin Hall, 2nd floor
Albuquerque, NM 87131-0011
Telephone: (505) 277-5813
Fax: (505) 277-1981